


The Beginning of Everything

by NIGHTFURY



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-02 02:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4042819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NIGHTFURY/pseuds/NIGHTFURY
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not a minute after they release Doctor Rockwell from his colleague's insidious experiment, the man-turned-monkey grabs a sheet of paper, multiple pens, and after a few minutes, hands it to Donatello before jumping out the window. On it is a drawing of a young teenager's face and a Kranng robot with only two words underneath: HELP HER. The group of ninja turtles finds her working at April's favorite restaurant. As it turns out, she has powers, ones the Kranng and the Foot Clan are willing to kill for. </p>
<p>The problem: Aside from a few terrifying moments, she doesn't remember a thing of her past. And she has a penchant for jumping into life-threatening situations without a second thought. How can Leo, Donnie, Raph and Mikey protect her when she keeps leaping into danger without a care to her own life?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own TMNT in any way, shape, or form.

 New York City. For those who never lived there, it is a sparkling city of wonderous technology and artistic creations. Where many of the inspired find their dreams come to life. Where hopes of a brighter future bloomed. Where the impossible happened every day.

Of course, this is not completely true. Everything has its dark side, and New York's criminal underworld is quite impressive. And it is in this underworld that our story begins.

A lone teenager of average height and weight raced through the darkened streets of Chinatown, long brown hair swinging behind her in the wind. Chocolate eyes darted back and forth, searching for safety. Her lungs burned fiercely and her legs ached with exhaustion. Tan skin clashed horribly with a pale green hospital gown, the only clothes she was wearing.

"Whoa! Be careful!"

"Yikes!"

"Watch it, lady!"

The girl didn't listen. She felt guilty for bumbling into them, sure, but being polite wasn't exactly important at the moment. Her main priority was to run away and hide. Hide from the men who looked and sounded exactly alike.

_Screams and needles. Red blood and green ooze that burned. Metal men with an obsession with pink._

The girl faltered for a moment, then shook her head. Those memories were not going to help her, not now. She needed to focus!

She raced around another corner, passed an old movie theater, and paused at a dead end. A small restaurant snuggled in the back, Japanese characters decorated the sign. The lights were off, but the door was open. 

_Why would anyone just leave their door open in the middle of the night? Even if it looks run down and old?_

"Kranng, is the one known as "Subject 32" located in this place?"

_Nevermind, I'll take it!_

A quick sprint took here inside the darkened shop. Using what little light there was, she hid behind the counter in the center of the room. She held her breath, heart racing in her ears.  _Please don't look here, please don't look here, please don't look here._

"Negative. Kranng must look in other places for the one known as Subject 32."

Metal clanked away from the alley shop. The robotic voices faded away. Knowing this, the exhausted teenager collapsed in relief and unknowingly fell asleep.

 

*TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES*

 

Pasta was the first thing she smelled when the girl awoke. A radio played classical music softly in the background. The girl picked herself up from the wooden floor. Now that the lights were on, she could that the restaurant was more old fashioned than run down. The counter she slept behind was shaped like a square, enclosing a large black stove. Stools were scattered around the edges outside.

"Well, well. You are awake." The girl yelped in fright. 

"No no no, it is okay. Relax young one, I will not hurt you." The person speaking was an old man wearing a white chef's outfit, with black glasses. He stood over a steaming pot with a wooden spoon.

"Come, sit." The young woman nervously looked back and forth between the man and the aforementioned spot. Carefully moving around the counter, she sat down just as the man placed a bowl of frothing liquid in front of her.

"There, enjoy some ramen, you sound hungry," the man added. The brunette quickly looked down at the wooden sticks and bowl in front of her.

_This smells really good. But, how do I eat this?_

The man noticed her hesitation. "Grab the chopsticks in your hand, like this," he instructed. Maneuvering her hand, the man helped her pick up the chopsticks. "Then, use them to pull the noodles to your mouth." 

After a few minutes of practice, she managed to get the food to her mouth without making a mess. As she ate, the man across from her filled up the silence.

His name was Murakami, and he was from Japan. He came to New York many years ago, and opened his noodle shop as a way to bring Japanese culture to the nearby residents. Murakami told the girl he was blind, but could use his other senses to create mental pictures.

"And that is me. I am curious about you though. Who are you?"

The girl froze with noodles halfway to her mouth. 

"I-I don't know," her alto voice answered truthfully. "I can't remember anything."

_At least, nothing before the labs._

"Interesting..." Murakami hummed. "Would you like to stay then?"

Brown eyes locked with blind eyes astonished.

"You...you would let me stay?"

"Of course! You have no place to go. It would be cruel to leave you out on the streets."

_Is he serious? I can stay?_

"But, I have no money-"

"Nonsense! You need a place to stay! And I am getting old in years. I could use a little help around my shop."

At this sentence, the brunette leaped over the counter and gave the man a bear hug.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you so much!" Murakami smiled, patting her on the back, but then frowned.

"I am sorry to ask you, but what do you want me to call you?" The girl leaned back, thinking hard.

_Those creeps called me Subject 32, but that is not a name! I had a name before. What was it-Sara? No, Kyra? No, wait, it was-_

"Myra." She said out loud. "Call me Myra."


	2. Frying Pans Make Excellent Weapons.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title: Meeting The Turtles/Never Say Xever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about being so late in writing this! I lost my passion for writing this, and I only recently got back my mojo. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! -Caitlin
> 
> Warning: Updates will be slow. I'm not abandoning my other works. I do not own TMNT in any way shape or form.

If Myra was honest with herself, she would say that she had some interesting, or downright weird, habits.

Take cooking, for example.

The third day she was staying in the back room of Murakami's restaurant, she woke up at 6 AM craving pasta. In her bleary half-awake state, she somehow managed to get up, chop up some bacon and sauté it in garlic and olive oil, all the while boiling up a pot of water for spaghetti and bringing out other ingredients such as eggs, peas, and Parmesan cheese. It wasn't until Murakami found her with a bottle of white wine in her hands did she wake up from her cooking trance, astonished at what she did. With Murikami's help, they finished cooking the meal and managed to clean the kitchen in time for opening.

If the regular patrons of the noodle shop were puzzled to see carbonara offered as a choice for a meal, they didn't question it.

This instinctual cooking came in unexpected bursts. In the weeks that followed, Myra had made a wide variety of casseroles, pastas, and sweets (mostly pasteries). Using the money she earned from working in the noodle shop, she bought a packet of black pens and a black notebook. Inside, she wrote down all of the meals she had made, whether it was the ramen Mr. Murakami made for her on her first day, or the fajitas she made on a late Thursday night. She also wrote down the day's events as she explored the city on the weekends, including hand drawn maps of various alleys and side streets.

That was another weird thing. Myra really didn't need to write it down; once she did something a few times, she learned how to do it. The notebook was more of a safety net than anything else.

Myra was told by a doctor friend of Mr. Murakami's that she had retrograde amnesia, which simply was a fancy word for saying that she lost her memories. Amnesia patients sometimes never remembered their pasts, and often were different people than before their memories kicked the bucket. Worse, some people had relapses if their injures were bad enough. There was no telling what the same-faced men did to her, so overall, better safe than sorry.

Now, she was in the restaurant, writing and drawing in her notebook something she had seen in her dreams.

Myra carefully put her pencil to her drawing and shaded in the last suit of the trio of same-faced men in background. She then sat up and stared. The grey picture had a hospital bed in the center of a round room with restraints dangling at its side. Medical tools were neatly aligned on a tray on the left. The same-faced men were behind the bed, seeming to stare at her through the picture.

She shivered. There was something really terrifying about that room. Why else would it keep appearing in her nightmares? What the room was eluded her however. Maybe that was a good thing. The nightmares of dark, excruciating pain were bad enough to force Myra awake with chills. A part of her wanted to stay as far away as possible from those creeps. Another wanted to find them and punch their lights out. Everything else just wanted answers. She moved her pencil to the side and wrote an addendum.

_The lab ones are the worst. I hate those because they are so clear. Why can't there be clear ones of me not surrounded by same-faced men?_

"My dear, are you alright?" Myra shook her head and looked up at Mr. Murakami.

"I'm fine." She answered politely. "Just doodling."

_And pondering over the mess my memory is._

Mr. Murakami smiled. "Ah, I see. Then I guess you don't want to know about the new books shipment Ms. Claiborne recently got." He teased.

Chocolate eyes widened. "New books?" she whispered excitedly.

"I hear some of them are by Agatha Christie too." By the time Mr. Murakami had finished his sentence, Myra already grabbed her things and raced to the back room, where a small corner was curtained off from sight.

Myra ripped the curtain aside and pulled a small cardboard box from underneath the cot that was her bed. She placed her notebook and pens inside the box and heaved out a large mason jar full of coins and bills. She carefully pulled out thirty dollars before putting the jar and box back to there proper places. 

"I'll be back soon Mr. Murakami!"

"Be careful dear!" 

Myra dashed out the door. People stared as they watched the teenage girl run down the street. They didn't stare for long, but she believed that was because of the large grin on her face and the fact she was wearing proper clothes. A dark green T-shirt, jeans, black shoes, and a black jacket do wonders for a person's appearance. She turned the corner, still running towards her destination.

Reading was something of a wonder to her. She learned she could read after a customer left their book on the counter a couple weeks ago. Ever since, she had been hooked on the hobby.

And now, the bookstore owner had some new books! She couldn't wait to get a look at them! As she ran down the street, she fantasized about the books she could get. Maybe the white haired owner had a new history book, or perhaps a book on different cultures and religions. Mr. Murakami mentioned she had Agatha Christie. She might have Ten Little Indians! Myra had been looking forward to-

"Omph!"

"O-AH-AH!"

Myra landed hard on her butt, tailbone stinging from the impact with the concrete. However, that was nothing compared to the embarrassment and chagrin that coursed through her. She scolded herself silently for her lack of attention as she pushed herself back to her feet. Myra brushed the back of her pants, apologizing to the man she bumped into.

"I am so sorry sir, I didn't mean to bump into you. I really should have been watching where I was going..." Her voice trailed off as she took a better look at the man. 

Except it wasn't a man. It was a monkey; a human-sized monkey with dark brown fur. A monkey, that was staring at her in complete shock. At least, what shock would probably look like on a monkey's face. It was really strange to see. Especially with its head tilting to the side in confusion.

"Er-ah-ah?" 

"Um, h-hi?" Myra stammered. The monkey had now crawled closer, sniffing at her clothes. He (at least, she thought it was a he) circled Myra in interest. When he finally stopped in front of her, Myra was intrigued. No longer afraid, she knelt in front to get a better look at him. His arms were long and skinny. His fur covered every part of his body, except for his hands, feet, and face. Brown eyes were bloodshot and he was still panting heavily. There were even a few ribs showing. The welt on his wrist looked infected, and the monkey needed a bath too, judging from the smell.

_Wait, that's not a welt._

Curiosity prompted her to do something possibly stupid. She held out her hand to the monkey. An offer. At first he flinched away hissing. 

"It's okay, it's fine." She whispered. "I don't want to hurt you." The monkey clearly wasn't convinced, but slowly, narrowed eyes widened, and a shaky hand reached for hers.

"Where is it? Where did it go?"

"Mikey, it headed in your direction, did you see where it went?" 

Fear and panic stirred into an unholy cocktail in Myra's stomach. The monkey seemed to sense it, but instead of freezing like she did, he acted.

"Hey!"

"O-rah! O-RAH!"

With surprising strength, he grabbed her frozen hand and shoved her into the darkened alley. He kept on pushing until she was hidden behind a large dumpster. With another quiet "o-rah" he jumped into the dumpster and closed the lid. Not a minute later, she heard large footsteps come near. She curled herself into a tighter ball to keep hidden.

"Did you guys see where he went?"

"I thought he went off in that direction."

"I thought it was that way."

Four male voices began arguing with each other, each trying to take control of the conversation. Myra tried to breathe slowly through her mouth. Her fight and flight instincts were at war with each other, wanting to get out of her, yet also not wanting to leave the poor monkey. Quiet footsteps came closer to the dumpster. Sweat formed at her brow as her heart rate skyrocketed. The shriek of the dumpster lid opening covered her own quiet one of fear.

But nothing came. Instead, whoever the person was helped Myra's monkey friend out of the dumpster, and closed it shut. Myra heard the monkey's heavy breathing slow with her own. Perhaps the unknown people were good guys? She carefully shifted herself to try and get a peek at the group.

Myra saw the chain before she felt it whiz by her cheek. She slipped before falling on her butt. The monkey shrieked in surprise as it wrapped around him.

_Not good! Definitely not good!_

"Ah-ha! Got yah that time!" A boyish voice sounded triumphant. Myra's fear rose at the statement. _How long had the monkey been chased for?_

"Great, we got the monkey. But we're not any closer to finding Dr. Rockwell." This second voice was irritated.

"Actually," a girl spoke, too close for Myra's comfort, "we're a lot closer than you think."

"What? How?" There was the third voice from before.

"I think this is Dr. Rockwell." Myra's eyes widened.

_Is he like me?_

"Wait, what?" Number 3 seemed shocked.

"Dudes, no way!"

"Hate to break up the pity party," the angry one interrupted, "But does anybody else get the feeling something hinky is going on?"

"Raph's right. We need answers." That last one had to be the leader. Myra heard the tone of command in the way he spoke. "Come on. Let's get him to Dr. Falco. He may know how to fix this."

Myra didn't need to see what was happening to know that "Dr. Rockwell" was panicking. Myra could hear his cries increase as he was dragged away. A few minutes after they left, chocolate eyes watered as she moved from her hiding spot. On shaking legs, Myra let her feet carry her back to the noodle shop. She cursed herself for her fear. If she had intervened, maybe the monkey man would've been okay. He wouldn't have been dragged of to who knows where and subjected to who knows what.

_Green ooze that burned-_

"Stop it," she whispered fiercely. "What's done is done. You can't change it."

 _Still_ , she wondered as she walked away, _just who were they?_

* * *

  _Later that evening_

Leo rubbed his bruised shoulder as his brother Donnie released the monkey-  _Dr. Rockwell, his name's Dr. Tyler Rockwell_ \- from the metal chair. The poor doctor had been turned into a science experiment by his own partner. All for Falco's sick desire for telepathy. As the doctor leaped from the chair, Leo felt guilt creep up on him for his family's part of bring him back to his personal hell.

"Dude, what's he doing?" Mikey asked. His youngest brother brought the blue masked turtle back to reality with his question. 

Leo had to blink at the bizarre sight of Dr. Rockwell grabbing multiple pens and a sheet of paper. He moved with fast, his large hands moving the pens on the paper with speed. It didn't take long for the doctor to finish and force the paper in Donnie's hand.

"Ah-ah-e! O-hoo-ah!" With his piece said, Rockwell moved to the open window ledge. "O-hoo-hoo."

"I'm not psychic, but I'm think he's saying thank you." A large grin proved Donnie correct before the monkey vanished into the night. Leo felt a smile try to appear, before he noticed concern etched on Raph's face.

"Um," his brother began. "If he reacts to angry thoughts, is New York City really the best place for him?"

Right on cue, an unseen pedestrian was heard yelling at the top of his lungs. The yelling soon dissolved into human screams of fear and monkey cries of anger. A car blew up in the distance, alarms ringing below.

"I'm sure he'll be okay." Leo said simply. 

_New York on the other hand..._

He quickly shut down that thought. "Come on, let's go home."

* * *

_The Next Day_

Back at the lair, Leo found himself rolling his eyes at his lovesick brother. While Donnie's desire to get to know April was sweet, creating a chart to predict April's every response was just creepy. And sad. Really, really sad.

"Speaking of sad," Leo winced before looking to Raph, who sat next to him reading a comic book. He must have spoken aloud. "You know you haven't put down that paper once yet, right?" Leo glanced again at the paper Donnie gave him when they got back home.

It was a sketch of what appeared to be a young girl. She had long hair, a small nose, and almond shaped eyes. Freckles dotted across her face. The drawing was in black pen, but the detail in the drawing was astounding. The only disturbing things about the drawing was the Kranng robot next to her and the words "HELP HER" right beneath it.

"Rockwell is obviously worried for her." Leo responded. He turned back to Raph. "I think it's something to look into at the very least."

"But we don't even know who she is, or how Rockwell even knows of her." Raph argued. "Where do we even start looking?" 

That was a fair point. There were thousands of people living in New York. How were a couple of mutant teenagers who lived in the sewers supposed to find one human female?

"Let's just keep our eyes open for now." The leader finally said. "She might show up on her own."

"Hmph." Raph looked skeptical as he returned to his reading. Leo himself looked at the drawing. Questions had been floating through his head ever since Donnie handed over the paper. 

 _Who is this girl?_ _Who is she to Dr. Rockwell?_ _And how are the Kranng involved?_

**KA-BOOM!!!**

"AAAHHH!!! FIRE!!!" Leo turned around in time to see Mikey race out of the kitchen. Smoke was billowing from the kitchen. He could even see flames licking the doorframe from where he was sitting. Leo vaulted over the couch.

"Raph, Donnie, get the fire extinguishers and shut of the gas! Mikey, April, help me with the buckets!" Bodies dashed about the lair. Leo and April raced to a set of orange Home Depot buckets by a small pool where a tire swing hung above. A soot covered Mikey was already over there, filling the buckets with water. Each grabbing two, Leo and April worked in tandem throwing water into the kitchen. Their efforts managed to give Leo a better view of the fire, which was centered around the stove and island.

"Stand back!" Raph yelled. Leo moved aside with April as Donnie and Raph dove in with industrial sized extinguishers. A flurry of foam covered the kitchen, blanketing the room in white and smothering the flames. 

"Okay, we're good!" Donnie gave the all clear. Carefully, Leo slipped inside.

It was a disaster. Black ash covered everything in sight. Tan cupboards now had explosion marks. The island was a blob of gray foam and half the size it used to be. The stove looked half melted and the foam on top sizzled with excess heat. The refrigerator was the only thing that seemed to be untouched. Leo turned to Mikey, who was being checked over by Master Splinter.

"What happened?" He asked sternly.

"I just wanted some grilled cheese, ya know?" Mikey grinned sheepishly. His arms moved everywhere as he continued. "So I grabbed the matches, turned on the stove, then everything just went boom!" Leo felt his stomach drop at the explanation. 

"Donnie-"

"I'm checking." The purple turtle pulled the blackened stove from its spot. Squeezing himself in a way that would be normally impossible for a human being, Donnie pushed himself behind, getting white foam on his shell. Instantly, the turtle groaned.

"Well, I found the problem." Donnie sat up holding a line of broken tubing. "Gas line's broken." 

"Ah, sewer apples!"

"Language Raphael."

"Hai Sensei."

"It looks like the line been eroding for some time." Donnie continued. "I'm going to have the check all of the tubing before we can even think about turning the gas on."

"How long will that take?" Leo struggled to keep his anxiousness out of his voice.

"If I can get the parts? Two weeks at least." All of the turtles groaned at the news. Even Master Splinter seemed resigned.

"I don't understand." April piped up. "Why is everyone so upset about this?"

"The gas line isn't just connected to the stove, it's also the lair's only real source of central heating. If we can't get that fixed before winter, it's going to get really cold." Donnie explained.

"My sons," Master Splinter stood up and grabbed his cane. "I am sorry, but training will need to be canceled for today. Spend your time instead cleaning and helping Donatello with his work."

"Hai Sensei."

"Now let us take care of the burn on your arm Michaelangelo." The rat master lead his youngest brother away with Raph following, and Leo grabbed a towel before beginning to scrub at the white foam mess that was the island. Donnie went back behind the stove, and April remained in the where she stood looking confused.

"Is the gas line that important?" She asked timidly. "I mean, Sensei never cancels training. For anything."

"It's extremely important." Donnie's voice was muffled by the stove. "No one likes winter. Especially turtle mutants."

"I like winter." April argued.

"What Donnie means is that winter isn't a good time for us. It never really was to begin with." Leo corrected.

"How so?" Leo paused in his scrubbing to look at April. She really didn't seem to have any idea what they were referring to. 

_It's like she forgets we're part turtle._

"April, what do normal turtles do it starts to snow?" Leo asked gently.

"They hibernate." She answered instantly. Leo could literally see the lightbulb flick on in her head. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yep."

"You guys actually hibernate?" She repeated incredulously.

"Technically, we just sleep more, and for longer." Donnie called from behind the stove. "And we only do that if it's too cold for us to move."

"It scared the fur off of Sensei the first time it happened." Raph commented as he came in with two mops. He handed one to April. "I don't think he left our side for about a month afterwards." Leo was surprised Raph even remembered that. They weren't even toddlers then.

"So, you need to fix this?"

"The sooner the better." Donnie began making a pile of broken tubing on the floor. "But I don't think we'll have much luck tonight. Do you know hard it is find steel tubing in the dark while trying to hide from vicious Rottweilers?" 

Leo shuddered. The last time they visited the junkyard, the owner had nearly caught them because one of the dogs found Mikey. That night had been a disaster. Leo pulled himself out of his thoughts and got back to cleaning the island. He mentally sighed at the sight of the blackened wood. Another thing to add to the list: make a new table.

"What if I got you the parts?" April suddenly asked. Blue and red masks whirled back to stare at April.

"What?" Raph asked.

"If I get you parts from a store above ground, they'll last longer than anything you can scrounge in the sewers or the junkyard." April explained. "Also means no need to fight anything tonight." Leo shared a surprised glance with Raph before looking at the stove where Donnie was pulling himself back up into view. The genius turtle was looking at the redhead girl with a mixture of surprise and awe.

"I...didn't even think of that." Donnie admitted.

"Don't you need money for that though?" Raph leaned on his mop. 

"I can pay for it." April countered. Leo couldn't really see a reason not to accept her offer. If it meant no one would get bitten by a Rottweiler, then it was good in his book.

"If your sure, then I guess we know what we are doing before patrol tonight." Leo nearly buckled under the weight of the excited teenage girl that jumped on him in a large hug. Raph snorted at his predicament. Personally, Leo thought Donnie's look of envy was funnier.

"I even know a store near my favorite restaurant. We can grab dinner from there too!" April added excitedly. Leo wasn't sure about that last part, but better parts and hot food did sound good. It might even be fun.

* * *

_Later_

Myra was not having fun. At all.

When she got back to the shop, Mr. Murakami kept asking her questions. He may have been blind, but that didn't mean he couldn't smell the dumpster scent that clung to her. She knew that he was only concerned for her wellbeing, but Myra wouldn't answer a single one of them, and eventually he stopped asking. But that wasn't the worst part.

After she went to bed, her brain decided it would be a good idea to replay the day's events over and over again as she slept. When she woke up the next morning, all she saw as she stumbled around were four large shadows bearing down on her. It left her jumpy, and a little snippy with what few customers had come in. Mr. Murakami eventually pulled her aside and politely asked her to work on inventory for the rest of the day.

"You are like a wolf gnawing at the bars of a cage and snarling at all who come near. Relax my dear." He whispered as he handed her the inventory list.

So instead of being snippy with customers, Myra silently fumed in the back of the shop, making a list of meats and vegetables she would need to get. The work was barely helping to alleviate her mood. All Myra could think of was the screams of the monkey man and the voices of the men who took him away. She wanted to find them and-

_Whoa, timeout. Think, then act._

Myra took a deep breath, brushed her long hair out of her face, then forced herself to think rationally. What could she even do? She wasn't exactly in the best shape to fight back, and even if she could, would it be the best choice? Besides, what if the large shadows worked for the same-faced men? She didn't spend the last month and a half in hiding in a noodle shop just so she could be recaptured for another 6 months of torture.

"I told you before, I will not give you a single penny! Now, leave my shop please!" Myra whipped her head towards the front of the shop. She had never heard Mr. Murakami so irritated before.

"I don't think so old man." A whiny voice sneered. "In fact, I think the boys and I will stay a while." Myra quietly put down her pad and pencil and crept to the open doorway.

"I will not tell you again. Leave." Mr. Murakami demanded.

"No."

Mr. Murakami grabbed a wooden pizza board and held it in his hands. He seemed to be simply moving it to a different spot, until Bandana Guy tapped his shoulder. The pizza board smacked so hard into Bandana Guy's face that it left a bright red mark. Myra felt a surge of awe at her blind boss' quick moves.

Bandana Guy didn't feel the same awe. Myra gasped as he grabbed Mr. Murakami by the arm and threw him to the ground with a thud. 

Myra scanned the back room for something to use as a weapon. Her eyes landed on a dirty wok resting in the kitchen sink. She grasped the wok handles and hefted it up. It was heavy and slippery; Myra figured she could get a good hit before it would go flying out of her hands. She'd have to time her attack carefully.

"Booyakasha!" A teenage voice yelled. Myra froze, the wok nearly slipping from her fingers. It was one of the voices she heard from last night. Panic bubbled up and overpowered her senses.

_I have to get Mr. Murakami out now!_

Myra grabbed the wok tighter before darting back to the door. Her brown braid swung down gently as she leaned in to look around the frame. Brown blinked twice at the sight.

Closer to her and a downed Mr. Murakami (her heart beat faster) were three white men, two very buff while the third was very skinny. All had a purple tattoo on their arms. Myra figured the skinny one was the leader of the trio; his whiney voice was the same as the one that threatened Mr. Murakami.

Across from them by the front doors were turtles. Literally four green man sized turtles were standing in front of the door. Myra may not have been an expert on what was possible, but she was pretty certain they didn't fall into that category. Each wore a different colored mask, and each held a different shiny metal weapon. Myra got the feeling they knew how to use them well.

"Alright, let him go." The turtle with the blue mask demanded. Myra recognized the same commanding tone from the night before. "You don't want any trouble," he continued.

"We, on the other hand, do." The red masked turtle smirked.

"Whoa, those guys were serious." Skinny turned to the their goons amazed. "They really are giant turtles!"

"You've heard of us?" The orange turtle whispered. "Dudes, we're famous!" He shouted excited. Myra noted that his weapon's chains looked a lot like the ones that wrapped up the monkey man.

"That's bad." The last turtle scolded. The ends of his purple mask flapped as he shook his head. 

"Oh." Orange sounded so disappointed.

"Whatever you are, this neighborhood is ours." Skinny sneered. "So why don't you slither back to the ocean you came from?"

Myra saw that both sides were focused on each other and wouldn't notice her approach. She crouched close to the ground and made her way towards Skinny.

"Actually, we're freshwater turtles." Purple corrected. Myra managed to get behind Skinny and stood up quietly. "I suspect we're derived from the diamondback terrapin, but it's possible we're a common-"

"Get- OW!!!"

Skinny fell to the floor clutching his head. Myra felt a surge of pride, but forced herself to pay attention. The other two goons were clearly not happy. Before they could attack, the turtles rushed forwards.

The next few minutes were a blur to Myra. Left and right, the turtles were beating the goons handily with an almost nonchalant air. Even with Myra focusing on beating in Skinny's head with her wok everytime he came near, she felt like giggling as she watched Purple and Orange tag-team a goon while eating ramen and checking their nails. 

Eventually only Skinny was left standing. He lunged at her with his meat cleaver. Myra barely got the wok up in time to defend herself, and the force of the cleaver hitting the wok made her bones vibrate. Blue quickly pushed Myra out of the way and began fighting Skinny with one arm behind his shell. Two punches and a kick sent Skinny sliding on the counter.

Blue picked up Skinny, and Myra thought he was going to punch him. Instead, he faltered, dropping the goon instead.

"Get out." He growled. Skinny listened, walking out and grabbing his friends.

"This ain't over greeny!" Skinny called over his shoulder.

"'Greeny'? Really? I wonder how many brain cells he put to work on that." Purple snorted.

_If I'm going to attack, I need to do it now!_

Myra turned to Blue, and slammed the wok down hard on his head.

"Ow! Watch it!" He complained. Myra ignored him and aimed at his head again. "What are you doing? Stop!"

"Get out! Leave us alone!" She raised the wok to hit Blue again. Only instead of hitting Blue again, it was ripped out of her hands. Green arms wrapped around her, dragging her away and trapping her no matter how hard she struggled. "Get off of me! Let me go!"

"Easy girl. We're just trying to help you." Red grunted.

"Yeah? Like the way you "helped" the monkey man last night? I don't think so!" Myra sneered.

"Wait, is she talking about Doctor Rockwell?" Purple asked. "She was there last night?"

"Hang on, you're who we're looking for!" Blue exclaimed. Another dose of adrenaline and fear coursed through Myra, driving her to try and head butt the turtle behind her. Blue shot forward and grabbed her hands.

"Whoa, easy! It's okay! We're not going to hurt you!" He soothed, rubbing her hands to try and calm her.

"I don't believe you! You're lying! I don't even know who you are!" She screamed.

"My name is Leo and I swear to you: I mean you no harm." Seeing that Myra was ignoring him, he looked over her shoulder. "Raph, let her go."

"And let her go after you with another frying pan?" The voice by her head asked sarcastically.

"Raph, she's scared. Let her go."

'Raph' open his arms and let Myra stumble out of his grasp. She quickly retrieved the wok and ran around the counter to give her space from the turtles.

"What did I tell you Leo?"

"Quiet Raph." Leo scolded. "Ma'am, I meant what I said. We don't have any desire to hurt you."

"Yeah dudette!" Mikey called from the door. "We just want to be friends!"

"Friends?" Myra said harshly. "You weren't very friendly last night to the monkey man."

"That was a misunderstanding." Purple interjected.

"Pretty big misunderstanding, grape-head!" Myra shot back.

"Grape-head? That's a good one." Raph snorted. Myra felt her anger flare.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, raspberry!"

"Raspberry? Why I oughta-"

"Raph! No!" Leo pushed back Raph away from the counter. He maneuvered himself until only he was in Myra's view.

"Listen, I know it probably looked really bad. But we really thought we were doing the right thing. When we learned we were wrong, we went back to free Dr. Rockwell." Leo held up a hand. "I don't know where he is now, but I know he is okay." Leo turned his and upwards towards her. "Please, will you trust us?"

Myra felt disbelief creep over her. These people, these turtles, had hunted down and possibly hurt the first being she came across that was possibly like her, and they wanted to be friends? Were they crazy? Then again, for the first time since her escape, she felt safe. Sure, Mr. Murakami gave her a place to stay and food to eat, but Myra was (ridiculously it must be said) waiting for the day when he would get hurt because her tormentors wanted her back. The people in front of her helped to save her and Mr. Murakami, and they seemed genuine. Myra figured it couldn't hurt to give them a chance, maybe. She set the wok down on the counter before shaking his hand. The turtle's shoulders relaxed as she did.

"Do you want some ice, or something?" Myra asked cautiously removing her hand from his. "You've got a bit of a bump on your head."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Raph." Leo warned. He turned back to Myra. "If you can spare some, that would be great."

"I'll be right back." She promised. She turned and walked to the back and to the freezer.

* * *

_Later_

Myra sat down with her journal not long after the turtles left. Once Myra had finished freaking out and had gotten Leo an ice pack, she found that Mr. Murakami and a red hair girl named April had already come in. As a thank you (and an apology on Myra's part) Mr. Murakami had offered them food free of charge, even going so far as to create a new dish just for them: pizza gyoza.

Personally, the night was rather awkward for Myra overall. Even after she gave a quiet apology to Leo with the ice pack, she could still feel Purple-no Donnie's, and Raph's eyes boring into her as they ate. They clearly didn't trust her not to attack again, and the thought sent guilt and shame riddling through her stomach. Myra didn't blame them for thinking that way and tried her best to ignore them.

April, Leo, and Mikey (or Orange as she called him earlier) had no such problems. April didn't speak much to her, but the girl had quickly promised to spend some time with Myra later next week. Leo had readily forgiven Myra, and talked to her often about her work at the shop. Well, he talked to her when Mikey wasn't taking up her attention. The youngest turtle was excited to meet someone knew, even if he was horrified by Myra's confession that she had never tried pizza before. Mikey declared that he would "help this poor soul discover the true miracle that is pizza" the next time they visited. Myra felt a little bewildered by his determination, but she willingly agreed.

With her journal open to a new page, she began to write down what had happened.

_ Remember the people who took the monkey man away yesterday? It turns out they are not people, but large talking turtles. They say that the monkey man, Dr. Rockwell is safe. I'm not too sure if I believe them, but they did seem really nice this evening. _

_ They did ask a lot of questions about Skinny and his goons. According to Mr. Murakami, they are part of the Purple Dragons gang. Today also wasn't the first time they came here for protection money. I've never met them before though. It makes me wonder... _

A knock at the door interrupted Myra's writing. She looked up and saw a figure at the door.

"Hello? Is anyone in there? Are you open?" A man called. Myra looked at the clock. 

_Who on Earth wants to eat ramen at eleven in the evening?_

"Uh, sorry sir," She answered. "We're closed for the night." Myra closed the journal and began walking to her bunk to turn in. Brown eyes kept an eye on the door however. Something didn't feel right.

"Oh that's too bad." The man's voice sent shivers down Myra's spine. Her instincts shrieked at her to run. She grabbed the wok that still sat on the counter and sprinted to her bunk. Myra hid her journal just in time to hear the man ordering someone to break down the door. She stood by the backroom doorway with a feeling of déjà vu. The crack of wood precluded quick footsteps. One set got close and Myra swung the wok. A figure completely dressed in black collapsed to the ground as the wok collided with his head. Myra stepped out of view quickly, glancing down at the wok.

_This is the second time this thing's been used. Not a bad weapon, to be honest._

More footsteps came and Myra swung again. This time, they were prepared for her. Two black figures grabbed her arms while a third snatched away her weapon.

"Mr. Murakami!" Myra screamed. "Run!" A hand covered her mouth, muffling her cries.

"Keep her quiet!" The brown man demanded with an accent. "The last thing we need is some do-gooder to call the cops." The brown man then grabbed a notepad and a pen from his pocket and wrote something down. Three more figures ran past into the back of the shop, bring the total count of kidnappers to 6. 

Myra struggled to escape and scream but her captors weren't having it. One pulled out rope and tied her hands behind her back, and the other wrapped a cloth around her mouth in a makeshift gag. Both held on tightly to her arms to keep her from running.

_Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic, they haven't found Mr. Murakami yet, he's fine, don't pan-oh come on!_

The three figures dragged Mr. Murakami into view. To her horror, he had been knocked out and tied up. One of the men stepped forward to the brown man.

"Sir, it's just them. No one else is on the premises." He said.

"Good. Any word from Bradford?" The brown man asked.

"He's still closing up his dojo sir."

"Americano estúpido." Myra did not know what language it was, but the insult easy to figure out. "Fine, tell the others to meet us at the factory. If Bradford's going to be late, then we will start without him."

_Start what?_

"Sir, will the turtles even show up sir?"

"Oh, they will. If they want to keep their precious friends alive." The brown man leered. Myra shivered as the men dragged her and Mr. Murakami off.

* * *

Leo raced over the rooftops, his brothers hot on his heels. April's frantic phone call came as the turtles were just beginning to enter the sewers to go back home. Trying to send a warning at the Purple Dragon's hideout was a major failure, and April's phone call had him dreading what they would find at the noodle shop. Seeing April waving from the front door, he dropped in front of her with his brothers.

"April, what's wrong?" He asked.

"It's the Murakamis'." April lead them inside. The shop wasn't trashed like earlier, but there were signs of a struggle. "Someone took them and left this." April continued, pointing out the note stabbed in the wall.

"Sweet! Free knife." Mikey cheered.

"The note, dummy." Donnie scolded before ripping the note down from the wall.

"No more running. If you want the old man and the girl, meet us on the roof of the fortune cookie factory." Donnie read aloud. 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's bust in there and save the Murakamis." Raph moved towards the door before Leo stopped him.

"Not so fast. Think, Raphael." Leo ordered.

"There's two words that don't usually go together." Donnie snarked. Leo fought the urge to smirk. Instead he focused on Raph.

"This is obviously a trap."

"Well, what choice do we have?" Raph challenged.

"Maybe we do need to think more like Xever." Leo mused. The others picked up on his train of thought.

"But Master Splinter said-"

"I know. But Xever crossed the line dragging the Murakamis into this." A grin began to stretch over Leo's face. "He's got to learn that we can cross the line too. No more Mr. Nice turtle."

"Yes! I never liked Mr. Nice turtle." Raph grinned.

* * *

Myra struggled against the ropes on her wrists quietly. She hid a shiver as the cold air blew around her. Thankfully the gag had been taken of so she could breathe easier. Myra would scream for help if she could, but with the amount of shiny weapons around her, she thought that was a bad idea. Mr. Murakami had been tied to a rope on a pipe and was left dangling over the street below, and she was sitting on the roof with two black figures as guards. Two more suddenly came and knelt at the brown man's feet.

"Sir, the turtles are nearly here." One of the men reported.

"Excelente." He purred. "Bring the girl over here. They'll want to see their friend, no?" 

The guards picked Myra up roughly. They pushed her forward and held her still next to the brown man. A few seconds later, the turtles appeared carrying a chained up trash can. They set it on the ground carefully, before glaring at the brown man and Myra's guards. Leo began walking forward and talking.

"Myra, Murakami-san, are you okay?"

"Meh, it could be better." Myra said with a shaky smile.

"Ah ah. Not another step. You don't want my knife to slip and scar her face, do you?" Leo froze midstep before placing his foot down. The brown creep grabbed her jaw in one hand as he held a butterfly knife in the other. "Such a pretty face too." He crooned.

In hindsight, Myra probably should have kept her mouth shut.

"I'd bite you, but who knows where you've been." She spat. Xever narrowed his eyes in irritation.

"Oh, burn!" Mikey teased. 

"We're here, Xever." Leo quickly said. "Now let the noodle man and the girl go."

"Sorry, there's been a change of plans." The newly dubbed Xever waved his hand and numerous black figures appeared behind him and Myra.

"Actually, there's been another change of plans." Leo shot back. The trash can behind him was lifted away to reveal a burly man in chains wearing a cloth gag.

"I love it when a change of plans comes together." Raph commented smug.

"You let our friends go and we'll let your friend go." Leo negotiated with a smile. His smile slipped when Xever laughed darkly.

"He's not my friend." Myra's eyes widened as Xever knelt and began using his knife to slowly cut the rope holding Mr. Murikami in midair.

"Uh, we're not kidding. Okay, s-stop or we'll toss him." Leo warned.

"Go ahead. It'll save me the trouble." Angry mumbling cut through the gag around the burly man.

"Uh, Raph?" Leo asked, clearly uneasy. Myra saw Raph look down at his hostage, before the turtle muttered a curse and set the man back on the ground. Myra felt weirdly relieved at the sight. It changed to full blown worry when Xever spoke again.

"That's what I thought. Attack!" Xever ordered. The black figures dashed forward and the turtles responded in kind. Myra watched in awe as Leo jumped over the figures and took out her guards before freeing her.

"Thanks." She said grateful.

"Don't thank me yet. We still need to get Murakami-San." Leo said. Myra nodded, then darted out of the way as more figures leapt to attack Leo.

Myra dodged left and right out of the way of swords, spiked clubs, and strange handheld pitchforks. As she rolled out of the way of a throwing star aimed at her, she heard the burly man get out of his binds.

"How could you be so sure they were bluffing?" The burly man asked Xever. 

"I wasn't." Myra's eyebrows went up at hearing that. _Wow, cold much?_

Myra managed to get over to Mr. Murakami and reached down to try and pull him back up to the roof. One of the figures saw this and tried to pull her away. She grabbed their arm trying to get the heavy man off of her. Suddenly, he didn't seem so heavy and she threw him off the roof. Myra blinked at the sudden change, wondering what had just happened when she got distracted by Raph and the burly man's words.

"Let's settle the score, pond scum." The burly man growled.

"We're the ones who didn't want to throw you off the roof." Raph retorted. The burly man growled at the reminder and grabbed Raph roughly before throwing him hard.

"Raph!" The cry came from both Myra and another turtle, which one, she wasn't sure. A sudden kick threw her into wooden beam of a water tower on the roof. The turtles landed next to her with their own painful grunts. Myra managed to ouch herself to her knees in time to see Leo slide next to her protectively.

"See, Bradford? That is how you catch turtles. And next, I'll show you how to filet them." Myra shivered at the thought. She began desperately looking around for a solution.

"You'd never have caught them without me and you know it." Bradford insisted.

"Oh, yes. What would we have done without your brave leadership from inside the trash can?" A shiny sword landed in front of her. One of Leo's. Leo and Myra glanced at each other before looking up to see Skinny walking away.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to cut these turtles into little pieces."

"I don't think so." Leo growled. He swung his sword, cutting the supports to the water tower. The tower groaned and fell away, bring a wall of water down in front of Myra and the turtles. The rest of the attackers, including Bradford and Xever, were swept away. Unfortunately, the water also pushed at Mr. Murakami and the frayed rope holding him up.

"No!" Myra screamed as the rope broke. She dashed forward, but Mikey and his chains were faster. He threw himself over the ledge as the chain anchored itself to a pipe.

"I got him!" Mikey called.

"Nice save, Mikey." Donnie praised. Myra raced forward with the other turtles to help pull Miley and Mr. Murakami back up.

"Don't look down Murakami-San. Or, uh, listen down." The moment both of them were back up and free of the chains, Myra grabbed Mikey in a hug. He was quick to respond with a bear hug of his own.

"Thank you for saving him." She whispered. She quickly pulled away and faced the other turtles. "All of you, thank you."

"No sweat dudette." Mikey responded first with a wide grin. Myra walked over Mr. Murakami and began checking to see if he was okay. "Dudes! Did you see that? She hugged me!" She heard Mikey whisper excited.

"Meathead." Raph rolled his eyes. Leo walked over to Myra and Mr. Murakami.

"Hey, do you need help getting back to the noodle shop?"

"Some assistance would be welcome." Mr. Murikami replied kindly. The group walked over to the fire escape and started climbing down. Leo and Donnie helped Myra down the slippery steps while Raph and Mikey did the same thing for Mr. Murakami. Once on the ground, the group headed back to the noodle shop. Thankfully, the walk was short and nothing happened. Walking into the shop, Mr. Murakami bid the turtles to wait for a few minutes before walking into the back of the shop. Eventually, the awkward slience prompted Myra to speak.

"Thank you for saving us." Myra smiled as she looked at the turtles. "I don't want to think what could have happened if you didn't come find us."

"Glad we could help." Leo shrugged. Mikey grinned at her while Donnie gave her an unsure smile. Raph's face didn't change from the blank expression he had on, but he gave her a nod. _Progress._

"What I don't understand though is why they even come after us in the first place? I never even met them before." As one, all of the turtles turned sheepish and looked away from Myra. Her eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

"We may have followed the Purple Dragons to their hideout and may have gotten caught." Leo slowly explained.

"Uh-huh."

"They may have also learned from the Purple Dragons about how we protected you from them."

"The Purple Dragons are working for Creepo the Pervert?"

Donnie managed to turn greenier than he already was. Leo and Mikey began mouthing the words in confusion. And Raph? Myra was slightly worried when the turtle fell to the knees until she realized he was laughing.

"Creepo the Pervert! Nice one Tiger!" Raph wheezed. "Hah! I've got to remember that one!" He cackled.

"Anyway, yes the Purple Dragons are working for Xever. We're sorry you got hurt because of us." Leo apologized.

"It's okay. It's not like you wanted it to happen, right?" Mr. Murakami walked in at that moment holding a to-go box in his hands. He held it out to Donnie.

"Accept this token of my gratitude. Pizza gyoza."

"Awesome. Thanks, Murakami-san." Donnie thanked. 

"You're welcome, turtle-san." Myra's eyes widened. The turtles bowed, before they noticed he called them "turtle-san."

"Wait, how did you-?" Donnie glanced at Myra and she threw her hands up defensively.

"I didn't tell him!"

"I do have other senses." Mr. Murakami said. "Touch, smell." Leo, Donnie, and Raph immediately glared at Mikey, who sniffed under his arm before looking back at his brothers with an apologetic grimace.

"You don't think we're weird and scary?"

"You saved our lives." Mr. Murakami reminded them. "Who am I to complain?"

"Same here." Myra agreed. "You may look different, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing, right?" Myra barely had time to move out of the way as Mikey launched himself at Mr. Murakami. The blind man was surprised by the hug from the enthusiastic turtle, but smiled anyway.

"New friends!" Mikey cheered.

 _Friends? Are they friends?_ Myra looked at the rest of the turtles thoughtfully. _Well, I don't know about Donnie and Raph just yet, but Leo, Mikey, and that redhead April would be fun to talk and hang out with. Isn't that what friends do?_

"Thank you, Murakami-san. I think it's time we head home guys."

"Come again. I will make pizza gyoza!" Mr. Murakami promised.

"I'll be there!" Mikey said happily.

"Come on Mikey!" Raph pulled Mikey off Mr. Murakami and the turtles left. Myra walked to the window watched the turtles disappear from sight. Such strange things had happened in the last few hours, and yet, things had turned out for the better. Myra walked to her cot and pulled out her journal. She pulled out the pen and continued from where she left off.

_ When  ~~the leader~~ Leo asked for me to give them a chance, I wasn't exactly sure if he had good intentions or not. And yet, despite my terrified first impressions, it turned out they were actually very decent  ~~humans~~   ~~turtles~~ people. (Note to self: ask what species they are.) I actually find myself hoping they return soon. Is this what having friends like? I don't know. If it is, then I like it. I should probably call it a night. Mr. Murikami and I still need to go grocery shopping tomorrow. Bye!_

"Mr. Murakami? Do you remember today's date?"

"I believe it is November 3rd, my dear." 

_P.S. Remember this date: November 3rd, 2012. It's the day I made my first friends!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Carbonara Recipe is totally real. I was craving when I was writing this and it somehow ended up on the page and I didn't have the heart to take it out. And for the sake of authenticity, I looked up Xever's origins. Despite the fact I can speak Spanish, Portuguese still has some notable differences. So if anyone can speak Portuguese, let me know if Google translate fails me.
> 
> Also, thank you to everyone who read my one-shot Prime Mothers! I loved reading your comments!  
> Please comment on this work so I know what you guys like!


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